Saturday could not have been a better day to go to one of the oldest and largest Trade Days in Texas. The sun was shining and it was 62degrees when we pulled up. We pulled up to the site with about 100,000 others.
We are parked across the street from that line of cars. Somewhere in that mass. I couldn’t pass up showing you that our trees are budding out here. Spring really is coming.
Can you imagine living in a sleepy little town about 26 days a month, only to be overrun four days just prior to the first Monday of each month? I am pretty sure we are a mixed blessing to the residents. These Trade Days are run by the city of Canton and have been since 1850. They have a web page, a Facebook page, and you can even get an App for your phone to help you while you are there. The visitors provide jobs, allow the town to have amenities that would not be available otherwise and we pay sales taxes. We also clog the roads, fill the restaurants to overflowing, walk on the grass, and in general shut down town. Sorry, Canton.
The official Trade Days site is huge, but there are several other Trade Days sites in Canton too. We like The Village, too but did not make it this weekend.
Trade Days are generally pet friendly. You see dogs everywhere in Trade Days.
The front of the Trade Days site is mostly, but not all, new items and commercial items. The booths are under cover and are a fun place for me to get ideas. There was the coolest place with porch swings made out of a twin bed mattress and rope but they would not give me permission to photograph and I don’t take pictures without permission. Here are a few of the sites that either had signs saying it was okay to photograph or with permission.
The middle section has a big variety of food booths, garage sale like items, and the unexpected.
I bought four of these chairs. They are going to be beautiful.
There are row upon winding row of booths. It would take a whole day to just go through this area.
I look for specific things in this area. I found a window in the site above. I struck out this year on looking for window that is solid glass for a project, but oh well.
The very back of Trade Days is my favorite. Here is a hint. If you like to look for table legs, furniture, industrial lights, and a variety of things “in the raw”… not shined up, cleaned up, or organized, this is your place. The vendors are crusty, the sites are a maze.
Burlap sacks are $1.00 each in this area.
To go directly to this part of the site enter at the West Gate.
We found this headboard on the last row of the whole place. It is going to be a bench for a friend. I just missed the buffet it is leaning against. It would have been my bathroom vanity. Someone got this for a steal. I am jealous.
We bought a mirror for the vanity, two door knob units and some architectural pieces, too while we were out. You will see them soon.
There are a ton of bed and breakfasts nearby but we decided to go at the last minute and they were full. We stayed at Best Western.
My favorite time of the year to go to Canton is October, November, March, and April. It is BOILING hot in summer and could be rainy or cold in winter. We were lucky because the weather Saturday was beautiful. We got up Sunday to temperatures 30 degrees cooler.
If you ever get the chance to go, wear comfortable shoes, pace yourself and enjoy yourself. Let me know if you get to go. I would love to hear your adventures.
Blessings,
Karen